It is time to pick up my grandfather’s story and follow his migrations. The post dated October 5, 2010, “R.S. McDonald Leaves International Fall, left Ronald or R.S. on his way to Grand Prairie, Alberta, Canada.

The photograph above has July 4, 1916 written in the top left corner. These are R.S.’s children. The back row going left to right, we see Miriam and Eddie. The front row, from the left, is Jean and Keith. They do not look happy and I do not recognize the house but then it is somewhat obscured. Their older brother Gordon and sister Vivian are missing. If the 1916 census (see below) was enumerated on June 1, 1916 then we have a mystery as to where Keith and his sisters were living when this photo was taken? Where they still in International Falls or somewhere else?

The time is about 1915-1916. Ronald (R.S.) sold the house in International Falls, which he shared with my grandmother Grace. Remember, Grace had died in 1911 from pneumonia and child-birth complications. See the posted dated July 18, 2010 “An Unexpected Tragedy!”

Why my grandfather left International Falls and headed back to Canada is unknown. He had six children to care for and maybe the lumber industry was starting to wind down in International Falls and he would soon be out of work. In any event his reasons are unknown. To me grandfather’s decision to leave International Falls was a major one and set in motion events that led him eventually to Washington State where Keith his son took up residence and adopted it as his home.

A Quarry Lease appears among papers that his daughter Jean must have had in her possession and it ended up with her granddaughter who gave it to me.

Ronald Sanfield McDonald, of International Fall, in the State of Minnesota, USA, Lumberman ……does grant that certain parcel or tract of land situate, lying and being in the Province of Alberta, and comprising that portion lying to the West of Smoky River of the South East quarter of Section 17, in Township 71, Range 2, West to the 6th Meridian, containing an area of 28.60 acres more or less….lessee for the term of twenty-one years to be computed from the 22 day of February 1915. Signed by a J.E. Gibson, the Deputy of the Minister of the Interior [ ], Ronald Sanfield McDonald Lessee and William V. Kane Witness.

I am not familiar with Canadian land descriptions which are probably similar the U.S., but it would be very interesting to pinpoint and identify this land in light of the 1916 Canadian census information given below. This lease is months before the sale of the house on Riverside Drive in International Falls, Minnesota, which took place at the end of December 1915 which I feature in the post I mention above in the first sentence.

R.S. and his son Gordon appear in the 1916 Canadian Census in Edmonton, Alberta. I was not able to find Nellie, his sister, and the other children. This census only covers Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

The location of Bezanson given in the census transcription, seems to be between Grand Prairie and Edmonton. Apparently Ronald and Gordon had gone ahead to get things ready for the rest of the family. It may be why Gordon does not appear in the photograph above?

There is evidence that his children: Vivian, Gordon, Miriam, Eddie, Jean and Keith all went with him to Grand Prairie. As I have mentioned before, they didn’t talk about the experience. By the time I was born, they were all in their late 30’s and early 40’s so these past topics were over and done and I am sure it didn’t even occur to them to talk about them.

Eddie’s Postcard – Collection of Junk

Daughter Eddie (Edna Lorraine) had a scrapbook titled “Collection of Junk.” Various items from her experience and time in the Grand Prairie area survived. The postcard above was one of those items. There was no writing on the backside.

The next item was a drawing:

A drawing by Clara Dahl 1918.

There was a comment made by Eddie but the item it refers to has disappeared or is the one I feature below. This scrapbook had many things missing and loose that had lost their home. It reads: Holy Card given me by Miss Kindervater, an invalid who once intended to be a nun. Grand Prairie, Alberta, Canada 1918. I am not sure if the card featured below is the one Eddie refers to. The backside has various religious notations followed by Christmas well wishes. It is just the kind of thing a potential “nun” might have?

Eddie’s memories 1918

Is this the one Eddie is referring too?

In the scrapbook is a grammar book from Eddie’s grade school days but she the name of the school written on the end page is difficult to read. Click on the photo below and it will get bigger. To return to this blog either close your tab or click your back button. I cannot make out the handwriting. If someone recognizes the name, please leave a comment. It could be a school in Albany, Oregon (see the comments below) not in Grand Prairie?

Back page of the grammar book.

Miriam sent me some notes about each of her siblings and in one of those notes she talked about her brother Gordon. I share only a portion here but will go deeper when I post about Gordon, my uncle, in the future. In the first sentences she mentions that Gordon was in grade school in Grand Prairie.

Comments about Gordon

It is possible that R.S. did not go directly to Cheney, Washington after they left Grand Prairie because Eddie writes in her Grammar book that she started the booklet in Albany, Oregon and kept it “for no particular reason.” This is a fairly recent discovery about the migrations of Keith’s family. It means that I might be able to find them in Oregon and further pin down their experience. The entry photo below is dated 1919. This means that after they left Grand Prairie they headed to Oregon and then to Cheney, Washington?

Things to Ponder!

1/30/2015 is my Blog's Anniversary. Wordpress sent me a nice Happy Anniversary message but Geneabloggers has forgotten. It was 5 years ago I started this blog about my Dad's (Keith), family. I have more to go and will be getting to his military service in the next months and then the name of the blog will make sense.

New Page Menu: Hover over the pages at the top and find others below. To get to Home just click on the picture.

Search this Blog

Search

FIND A GRAVE

See page One Tombstone at a time - just hover over the pages above...

Archives

Email Subscription

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

This Blog’s Anniversary Date!

This blog was started on January 30, 2010.

COPYRIGHT

You may NOT use the contents of this site for commercial purposes or for publishing on the web or in books without explicit permission from the author and blog owner. Commercial purposes includes blogs with ads and income generating features, and/or blogs or sites using feed content as a replacement for original content. Full content usage is not permitted.